Famous for theatrical outfits, the Oscar-winning designer also created outfits for Marilyn Monroe, Tina Turner, Diana Ross and Elton John
3-MIN READ3-MIN ListenAssociated PressPublished: 3:59am, 15 Sep 2026Bob Mackie, the fashion designer whose visually provocative Hollywood style defined glamour for the 1970s – including putting Carol Burnett in some of her kookiest get-ups and Cher in her raciest ones – died on Monday. He was 87.
“He lived his 87 years to the fullest, fulfilling his dream of being a Fashion and Costume Designer, which is all he ever wanted to do,” read a statement on his social media accounts. Mackie died in Palm Springs, California, from pneumonia, his publicist said.
Dubbed the “Designer to the Stars”, Mackie won nine Emmys, a Tony and was nominated for three Oscars, including one for Barbra Streisand’s 1975 film Funny Lady, in which she wore a sheer batwing gown. He was inducted into the Academy of Television Arts & Sciences’ Hall of Fame in 2002.
Mackie designed gowns for Madonna, Streisand, Sharon Stone, Diana Ross, Whoopi Goldberg and Julia Louis-Dreyfus, and concert costumes for Pink. When Marilyn Monroe delivered a breathy, seductive take on “Happy Birthday” at a fundraiser for President John F. Kennedy and the Democratic National Committee, she did it in a sheer, beaded gown that Mackie dreamed up in a sketch.
